


A solis ortu usque ad occasum - From Sunrise to Sunset

by fuzzymoonbeam



Category: Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Fake/Pretend Relationship, Fluff, Holidays, M/M, No Smut, a lil bit of angst, just a lil bit, no beta we die like men
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-01
Updated: 2021-01-26
Packaged: 2021-03-09 04:08:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 12,342
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27318268
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fuzzymoonbeam/pseuds/fuzzymoonbeam
Summary: George accidentally tells his parents that he would bring his boyfriend over for Christmas. One small problem; he doesn't have one.Aka: the fake date au that no one asked for but I couldn't stop thinking about it so here we are :)
Relationships: Clay | Dream/GeorgeNotFound (Video Blogging RPF)
Comments: 92
Kudos: 523





	1. Ab initio mundi - From the beginning of the world

**Author's Note:**

> Ok so I thought this idea was original and I wrote this first chapter then I realized that someone else probably already wrote about it but... WhAtEvEr... Also this pretty much goes without saying but I'll say it anyways. If either George or Dream expresses discomfort with fanfiction I'll take this down without hesitation and I ship their Minecraft personas, not them :)

"Sapnap what am I going to do?" George whined over a call with his best friend, Sapnap.

An hour earlier, George's parents called to ask him if he was bringing anyone over for Christmas. They were constantly bugging George to bring someone home. It was always, _Georgie when are you going to let us meet your boyfriend!_ or _Georgie when are you going to get out there and meet someone?_ George, being the absolutely best person at thinking of things on the spot, said that he would bring his boyfriend over. It was a good idea at the time, since it had quieted his parents, and finally George a moment to breathe. In hind sight, George has now realized it was, in fact, a _terrible_ idea. Not only did he not have a boyfriend, but he pretty much only talks to BadBoyHalo, Sapnap and Dream. Long story short, he was screwed.

"Sapnap I'm serious! Stop laughing!"

Sapnap only laughed harder at George's panicking. 

George screamed in frustration. "I've got about two weeks until I'm supposed to show up on my parent's doorstep with someone pretending to be my boyfriend!"

Sapnap was dying over the phone.

"You're not helping at all." George was very close to hanging up on Sapnap.

"Ok, ok!" Sapnap said in between his laughter. "Just, like, someone you know who lives near you."

George sighed, exasperated. "I barely ever go out of my flat unless I'm going to the grocery store. I practically live online. You know this!"

Sapnap snorted. "Ok, well, ask Dream then."

George paused at that. "What?"

"As much as I love you, I'm busy and I'm pretty sure Dream's not so..."

George wasn't sure what to think. "We've only meet once in person."

Sapnap hummed over the call. "Well think of it as another chance to see each other then!"

George was very close to exploding at Sapnap. "Not helpful." George sighed. "I'll just try to think of something else."

Sapnap laughed at him again. "Ok, man. Good luck!"

George heard the beep signifying that Sapnap had hung up. It was pretty late for George, so he figured he might as well get some sleep before he had to face his life problems again.

o-o-o-o-o

George and Dream just logged off of Minecraft, having tested a command George had coded. It worked, and they were planning on recording with it in a few days. After they logged off, George and Dream usually stayed on a discord call while doing other things like scrolling through Twitter.

Not being occupied with the game, George's mind traveled back to the Christmas problem. He was seriously stressed about it, and the more time he thought about it, the more he was leaning towards bailing. George couldn't get Sapnap's suggestion out of his head as well. It embarrassed George, having to ask Dream. He bounced back and forth between the pros and cons. 

There was a few minutes of silence between them on the call before Dream spoke. "Hey George?"

George snapped back to reality. "Yea?"

Dream spoke softly, in a tone George has only heard outside of recording. "You ok? You seemed a little distracted when we were playing today."

George paused, mind whirling, and he gathered up the remains of courage that he had. _It was now or never._ "Can I ask you something?"

George heard Dream shuffle around over the call. "Sure."

"I know this seems weird and all of the sudden, and I know we only meet once in person, and-" _Great going, George_ he thought to himself.

Dream cut him off. "George what is it?"

George rubbed his sweating hands on his shorts. "I uh... I was wondering if you could come to my parents house for Christmas and pretend to be my boyfriend?"

Each second George didn't hear a response, there was a pounding of his heartbeat in his ears. Dream answered what felt like a minute later, but was probably a few seconds later. "Sure," was all that he said.

George, expecting to have to talk more about it, stammered on. "Here me ou- wait what?"

George could hear movement from Dream, and guessed that he shrugged his shoulders. "Yea, sure I'll go with you."

George was shocked. "Really?"

Dream laughed. "Yes idiot, I'll do it. More time to see you, right?"

George slowly started to think again, heat flooding his face. "Yea."

Dream clicked away on his computer. "When should I book a flight?"

George panicked for a second. He hadn't really thought this far yet. "Ummm... in a week or so, maybe. I was thinking we could hang out at my place for a week then go to my parents."

Dream sounded excited when he responded to George over the call. "Sounds good!"

They spent the next half hour looking at flights, and booked one that was 6 days from then. George had tried to pay for Dream's flight, but Dream insisted he would pay. George tried to secretly PayPal Dream, but then Dream sent him back the amount of money George had sent.

"I can see that you paid me, idiot." Dream wheezed.

George cursed. PayPal notifications really decided to mess with him today. "No... no you didn't..."

Dream wheezed. "Whatever..."

George screamed when he saw that the money in his bank account went up. "DREAM STOP! LET ME PAY FOR IT!"

"Nope."

George let out a frustrated sigh. "Ugh you're the worst."

"You love me though."

George rolled his eyes. "Do not." George then yawned.

Dream snorted. "Go to sleep."

George cursed at himself. Despite how tired he was, he desperately wanted to stay on call with Dream. "I'm fine."

"George seriously."

George shook his head, even though he knew Dream couldn't see him. "No. I can fuck up my sleep schedule if I want to."

Dream laughed softly. "I should head to bed anyways. Night Georgie."

George sighed. "Night." They both hung up. 

George closed all the tabs on his computer and shut it down. He then changed into more comfortable clothing, brushed his teeth, and then flopped onto his bed. Grabbing his phone, he mindlessly scrolled through Twitter for a few minutes. He snorted at a few tweets, then was in awe at some fanart. The fan base never ceases to surprise him.

He closed out of the app, and burrowed himself into his bed.

Despite feeling the weight of keeping his eyes open, George was excited. Dream was coming to England.

_Dream was coming to England._


	2. Adsum - I am here

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ayyyy happy (late) birthday to George
> 
> Also fair warning I like to switch POV around a lot :)

An alarm blared, waking George up from his sleep. It was around noon time, and George was up until 1am that morning streaming with Sapnap. George rolled out of bed, and grabbed his phone. Walking into his kitchen, he mindlessly scrolled through Twitter as he made himself breakfast. Flipping the eggs in the pan over, he closed out of the app and shut his phone off. George then put his phone on the counter and put the egg on a plate to eat. As George sat down, his phone pinged with a notification. 

**Sapnap:** Yo George  
Have u talked to Dream recently? He's not responding to any of my texts

 _Shit,_ George though. He may or may not have forgotten to tell Sapnap about asking Dream. After calling Sapnap panicked that one time, George hasn't talked about it since. Both Dream and George hadn't mentioned Dream coming to England on any of their streams as well. 

George double cursed when he checked the time. He was supposed to pick up Dream from the airport in a few hours.

 **GeorgeNotFound:** Uhh nope  
Maybe he's just sleeping?

 **Sapnap:** Ok

George felt bad for lying, but it was a little late now. 

**GeorgeNotFound:** Call u later?

 **Sapnap:** Sure dude

George sighed as he shut his phone off again. Nerves that he had been intentionally avoiding were beginning to crawl back to him. George swallowed hard as dread spiked within him. Thoughts spiralled in George's mind as he thought of all the worst possible scenarios that could happen. _What if it's super awkward? What if he doesn't like me in person? What if we can't hold a conversation? What if he wants to leave?_

One thought out of all scared George the most. 

_What if at the end, I don't want him to leave?_

George shuffled in his seat. He shook his head and reassured himself that everything would go smoothly. 

Before he knew it, the alarm George had set on his phone went off, signifying that he should start driving to the airport. 

George grabbed his car keys and texted Dream to tell him when he landed.

o-o-o-o-o

Dream stretched his legs, kicking them under the seat in front of him. Planes really weren't his thing, but he would do anything to see George. Grabbing a piece of gum, he anxiously chewed it as he waited for the flight attendant to announce the plane was beginning to land.

Dream hoisted up the shutter on the small window beside him, and peered outside. He looked at the clouds, then looked past the clouds only to find more clouds. Dream tapped his fingers against the arm rest, and a nauseous feeling inside of him grew. He quickly shut the window before he could fully rationalize how high off the ground he was. 

Dream pulled out his phone and clicked on a spotify playlist George had sent him before he boarded the plane. The playlist kept his attention, and before he knew it, Dream heard the familiar noise that signified the fasten seatbelts notification was up. Dream closed his eyes as the flight attendant announced the beginning of their land. 

Once they were safe on the ground, Dream bounced his leg up and down with anticipation. He fiddled around on his phone until Dream saw he had service. A small smile spread upon his face as Dream saw George had texted him. Dream texted George back saying he had landed. 

Shutting his phone off, he slipped it into his hoodie pocket. Dream was wearing his own merch so George could identify him easily in the airport crowd. 

The plane came to a stop, and Dream flung off his seatbelt and shot up. Dream had booked himself a seat near the front of the plane, so he wouldn't have to be on the plane for any longer than necessary. He grabbed his suitcase from the area above his seat, and waited impatiently for the people in front of him to gather their things and get off the plane. 

Dream stepped off the plane and took a deep breath as his feet hit solid ground. Weaving his way through the crowd of gathered people, he scanned through the cluster of people for a familiar face. 

_George._

Dream spots George near the entrance of the airport, and carefully walks over to him. He recognized George's dark hair and dark eyes, a contrast to the baby blue hoodie he was wearing. A small part of Dream thought the pixels he stared at daily did no justice for how beautiful George looked in person. George was occupied with something on his phone, so Dream took a picture of him and saved it to his photos. _To remember this later,_ Dream assured himself.

Dream had to bite the inside of his cheek to keep from laughing at how ridiculously _short_ George was. "Hey."

George startled, jump scared by Dream. "What- DREAM!"

Dream wheezed, finding George's reaction hilarious. He quickly recollected himself and pulled George into a hug. Dropping his suitcase on the floor, he wrapped his arms around George and hugged him close to his chest. Dream buried his head into the crook of George's neck, and breathed in his scent. Staying in the hug for a little longer than necessary, Dream sighed. When they pulled away from each other, Dream picked his suitcase back up and gestures for George to lead the way to his car. 

When they reach George's car, they threw Dream's luggage into the trunk of the car. George then quickly scrambled into the drivers seat, and Dream the passenger seat. 

"George, why is it so damn cold here?" Dream shivered, and then reached for the heat in George's car.

George grinned at Dream, turning his head away from the road for a second to smile at Dream. "Maybe because it's winter time and you forgot a coat?"

Dream scoffed. "I did not forget a coat... It's just at the bottom of my suit case."

George shook his head, but a small smile remained on his face. 

Dream allowed them both to fall into a comfortable silence as George continued to drive them to his apartment. When George wasn't looking at him, Dream pulled out his phone and took a picture of George. Dream then posted it on his Twitter. Dream instantly was bombarded with likes and retweets, and a lot of comments asking if he was finally visiting George. Dream laughed as messages from Sapnap also rolled in.

 **Sapnap:** IS THAT GEORGE???  
DREAM ANSWER YOUR FUCKING PHONE  
DREAM  
DREAMMMMMM  
CLAY  
I CAN SEE YOU'RE ONLINE  
ANSWER MEEEEE

Dream snorted and put his phone down. He should probably answer Sapnap, but for now, he was going to ignore the messages. Dream eventually nodded off in the car, listening to George hum to whatever song played on the radio.

o-o-o-o-o

George pulled over into the parking lot in front of the building that occupied his flat. He turned the car off and looked over at Dream. About a half hour into the car ride, Dream had fallen asleep. George didn't really have time to study Dream before, and his eyes raked over Dream's features. He had tan skin, disheveled dirty blond hair, and freckles that lined his nose and cheeks. George thought it was crazy that a giraffe of a person like Dream could fit in his car comfortably enough to peacefully sleep.

George unbuckled his seatbelt and hesitantly reached out to shake Dream awake. "Hey Dream, wake up." When no response came from Dream, George shook him on the shoulders more. "Dream, wake up we're here." Dream eventually groaned and fluttered his eyes open. George turned away and got out of the car. 

Grabbing Dream's suit case out of his trunk, George then gestured for Dream to follow him inside the building. George led Dream to his flat and unlocked the door. He watched as Dream lit up and wandered around his flat.

George fidgeted as Dream looked about his small flat. "Its not much."

Dream smiled and turned back to George. "I like it."

George rolled his eyes and put Dream's suitcase down in his room. "I don't have a guest room so I just figured you could sleep in my room and I'll take the couch."

Dream shook his head. "No I'll take the couch. It's your bed."

George frowned. "But you're the guest."

"Yea but... what about when we go to your parents?"

George played with the helm of his hoodie. "Umm I hadn't really thought about that yet."

"All I'm saying is I'm fine with sharing." Dream said, then added quickly, "as long as you are."

George shrugged. "Sure."

There was a few awkward moments of silence before George asked "pizza?"

Dream smiled and nodded. "Yeah."

George ordered pizza for dinner and got it delivered to his flat. They eventually settled down on the couch and watched Netflix while adding stupid commentary about how awful the movie George randomly selected was. They also eventually called Sapnap, which included a lot of yelling and joking around. They also played with George's cat, who betrayed George and took a strong liking to Dream.

When they both started to get tired, George showed Dream where his bathroom was so he could change and brush his teeth. While Dream was in the bathroom, George decided to build a wall of pillows in the middle of the bed. George thought it would be very awkward for him to wake up the next morning and have to listen to Dream tell him that George had kicked him in the middle of the night. 

After George was done building the wall, he opened his Twitter app and got an explosion of notifications. Scrolling through his feed, he saw a picture Dream had tweeted of George driving. He liked it, and commented about how Dream was finally visiting him. After laughing at a few comments, Dream came back into the room and laid down on George's bed. George then used the bathroom and got himself ready for bed. After, he flopped down onto the bed and put his phone on the nightstand beside him. 

"G'night George," Dream whispered to George.

George yawned and reached over to turn off the bedside lamp. "Night Dream." As George laid back onto the bed, he listened to Dream's breath even out. Dream was with him in England.


	3. Ad astra - To the stars

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oof sorry for completely dropping off the grid lol I'll try to get on a better schedule for posting but idk how it's gonna work out I'm not the best at committing to things XD

When Dream woke up, he smelled something burning. He glanced around, not familiar with his surroundings. He blinked a few times, then sat up. Recalling the previous day's events, Dream smiled to himself. Looking around the room, he now recognized it to be George's room. He then stood up, stretched, and followed the scent of something burning.

Dream walked into George's kitchen and saw what appeared to be a pan of burn pancakes. "George?"

George, who was standing at the stove, whipped around to where Dream was standing in the doorway. "Uhhhh..."

Dream yawned then said, "what are you doing?"

George ran a hand through his disheveled hair then gestured to the burnt pancakes on the stove. "I was trying to make us breakfast but then got distracted."

Dream walked over to the stove and laughed at George's sad attempt at pancakes. "How? You just follow the directions on a box."

George sighed dramatically. "I don't know, ok? I looked at it and it was fine, then I blink and somehow it caught on fire."

Dream let out a small wheeze. "How? How did you- how did you manage to catch _pancakes_ on fire?" He picked up one of the burnt pancakes and put it on the counter. "Gimme the mix. I'll do it."

George frowned and handed the pancake mix to Dream, who then made enough pancakes for the both of them _without_ burning them. He then set the table and grabbed butter for the two of them. 

Dream set the pancakes on the table and sat down. "So what's the plan for today?"

George shrugged then offered, "Minecraft?"

"Sure," was all Dream said, in between stuffing pancakes in his face.

o-o-o-o-o

A few moments later, George saw a streak of white run through the kitchen.

Dream, who has only seen the kitten once on a video call, froze. "George is that your cat?"

George glanced up from where he had resumed eating his pancakes. "Huh? Oh yea!"

George laughed as Dream scrambled up and rushed over to the small white kitten. He then reached down and started to pet the cat. George followed Dream to where the kitten was and picked it up. 

Holding the kitten as someone would a baby, George pet the cat and watched as it stared up at him. He then held the cat out to Dream, who scooped it up and cooed as it let him pet it. 

"George, your cat is so cute!" Dream pet it, and played with its small paws while holding it. He then held it out for George to take back after he was done holding the kitten. He was was silent for a minute before he spoke. "Minecraft?"

"Yea!" George said. He put down the cat in his arms and lead them into the room he used as an office. He pointed to a space he cleared for Dream, and said "set your laptop here." While his computer was booting up he asked, "what do you want to play?"

Dream shrugged as he powered on his laptop. "We could try to play bed wars... I don't know how much my laptop will be able to handle though."

George nodded. "Lets try that. 2v2?"

Dream opened Minecraft on his laptop and clicked play. "Yea."

Once George saw that Dream was on hypixel, he sent a party invitation. "Join my party."

"Ok!"

Once they loaded into the bed wars lobby, George laughed at all the people who started to swarm Dream. Some people stopped and stood in front of George as well, but mostly they followed Dream around. 

"George help me!" Dream took one look at all the people before starting to run.

George watched as Dream's figure ran around the small space while the countdown ticked off. He laughed as all the people formed a line behind Dream and ran behind him. "You have a human chain following you."

Dream wheezed as more people joined the game and followed him. 

"Might as well make myself useful..." George ran into the middle of the crowd and followed Dream around.

Dream gasped dramatically. "George!"

The clock ticked down to zero, and they spawned into the bed wars arena. Their bed color was blue, which George was thankful for. Both George and Dream rushed to get materials to buy things with.

Once George had enough iron for wool, Dream spoke. "I'll rush middle, you bridge and get diamonds?"

George nodded and bought wool to bridge with. He then ran to the edge and started making his way over to the island with diamonds. "Hey Dream, watch this." George proceeded to speed bridge his way over, effectively making it about half way before he miss clicked and fell.

Dream laughed. "You're such an idiot."

George scoffed. "Yea? Like you could do better."

Taking that as a challenge Dream said, "watch me."

George looked over at Dream's screen and groaned as he effectively speed bridged to the middle. George scrunched his nose up and turned back to his screen. "You're cheating."

Dream wheezed as he ran around gathering emeralds. "What? How is that cheating?!"

George shrugged. "It just is." He finished building his bridge to the diamonds (successfully this time) and gathered a few before starting to head back. "Will you build a bed defence?"

"Yep."

When George got back to their island and spent the diamonds, he turned to Dream. "Lets rush some people."

Dream gave George some emeralds to spend on better gear. "Alright, let's go get green."

George spent the emeralds and bought some wool and tnt. "That's to the right, right?"

Dream's figure stopped moving on screen and turned back to look at him. "No George that's yellow."

George left clicked Dream's figure on screen. "Well how am I supposed to know."

Dream ran across the bridge then said, "George, you already started bridging left, why would we go right?"

George followed him. "Hey, it's not my fault they look the same!"

Dream laughed and bridged over to the island where green's bed was. Only one player was at the base, so George and Dream were easily able to destroy their bed and kill the player. George raided the team's supplies as well, taking their gold for a bow and arrows. 

"Continue rushing?" George offered.

Dream nodded and started along the path that the green team had already built to another island. The elimination of the pink team startled George, and he almost jumped off the edge of the bridge. 

Dream was watching and shouted, "George!"

George laughed at the panic in Dream's voice. "I'm ok!"

The rest of the game went smoothly, and they secured a win by rushing other teams and looting other team's bases. 

George smiled excitedly at Dream beside him. "Lets go!"

Dream grinned back at George and yelled, "we won!"

George laughed and had his Minecraft character dance around on screen. Looking back at Dream, George smiled again. It was different having Dream with him in person, rather than on call. He could finally put a face and expression to Dream's voice. Hearing Dream get excited over a call vs seeing his face light up were two very different things. A warm, fuzzy feeling spread through George as he looked at his smiling friend. 

George felt his face heat up as he realized Dream was talking to him. "-ay again?"

"What?"

Dream laughed even harder then he was previously laughing. "Wanna play again?"

"Um, yea?!"

They spawned into the bed wars arena, and used the same strategy as before. Dream bought wool and started bridging to the middle while George bought wool and started making his way over to the diamonds. 

George refused to be beat at speed bridging again. "I bet I can speed bridge the whole way."

Dream stopped what he was doing to watch George. "Ok, do it."

George concentrated on bridging over to the diamonds. He had about 3-4 blocks left to place when he messed up. 

Dream laughed. "George, you're such an idiot."

George folded his arms. "You do it then."

"Ok, I will." Dream started speed bridging his way over to the middle. He got about half way there when George decided to sabotage him. 

George reached over and poked Dream in the side. 

Dream curled away from George, still focused on building. "Hey!"

Realizing Dream was ticklish, George reached over again and poked him in the side a few times.

"George! Sto-" Dream wheezed and squirmed. 

George poked him again, and Dream fell off his bridge. Satisfied with the results, George sat back in his chair and continued to play.

Dream turned in his chair to face George and smiled mischievously. "Oh no you don't..."

George froze. "Dream... DREAM!" George shot up out of his chair, game forgotten, trying to avoid Dream's tickle attacks. "NO! LEAVE ME ALONE!" He raced out into the hallway and down into the living room with Dream right behind him. 

George sped around the living room, putting the couch between himself and Dream.

Dream was laughing like a maniac and shouted, "C'mere George!"

George, who thought that putting the couch in between them would be enough, was dead wrong.

Dream leaped up on to the couch, then over the couch, and tackled George to the floor. He then proceeded to attack George's sides, meanwhile George was laughing and telling at him to stop. Dream eventually stopped, but still stayed sitting on top of George, and leaned his head against George's chest.

Once George had a moment to breathe, his face went red once he realized how close they were to each other. "Dream, get off me."

George felt Dream laugh and roll off of him on to the floor beside him. "How about we finish that round?"

George sat up and nodded. "Sounds good!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also thank you all so much for 100+ kudos!!! It means a lot to me that people are actually enjoying this lol <3


	4. Veni, vidi, vici - I came, I saw, I conquered

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Look at me, sticking to an actual schedule :D

One thing Dream learned about George pretty early, on was how close he liked to be. When they say down, their shoulders often brushed sending a warm feeling through Dream, or their hands accidentally touched. In the 6 days he had been at George's, Dream learned that he didn't mind the contact. Living by himself had made him touch starved and lonely. Don't get him wrong, Patches was an excellent companion, but there were some things that the cat just couldn't do. Dream secretly relished in the close contact, as it felt like the moment George and himself were separated, they could never get close enough to each other again. This was why he knew something was bothering George when he sat on the other side of the table. 

Dream sat at George's kitchen table and absent mindedly scrolled through his phone. They were going to George's parents house the next day, and he could tell that George was stressing. He looked up from his phone and watched George as he bit his nails, a nervous habit he had found George developed when he was anxious. Dream hated seeing George stressed. 

"What do you want to do?" Dream tried to talk to George, get him to look up from his phone or do anything normal.

George shrugged, not looking up from where he stared his phone. "I don't know."

Dream sighed. He wanted to fix the tension that had built up between the two of them, but he didn't know how. "George?"

"What?"

"Are you... alright?" Dream set his phone down on the table.

"I'm fine," George said. 

Dream pulled George's phone out of his hands. The phone was off, meaning that George had spent the last half hour staring at a black screen, lost in thought. "You're obvious not. Tell me what's bothering you."

"Nothing. I'm fine, ok?" George snapped. 

"Ok." Dream slid George's phone back to him. He watched as George made no effort to grab the phone off the table. After a few moments of silence, Dream decided to guess what was bothering George to make him talk with him. "Is it something on Twitter?" Watching George shake his head no, Dream thought, _maybe George was stressed about uploading?_ "Is it something about your channel?"

George shook his head no again. "No."

Dream continued to guess. "Something... Minecraft related?"

George scrunched up his nose and shook his head no. 

Having eliminated a lot of things, Dream was sure he now knew what was bothering him. "Are you worried about tomorrow?"

George didn't respond, only bit his nails and Dream would tell he was over thinking things.

"We don't have to do this if you don't want to."

George finally spoke. "I guess I just feel bad for pulling you into this."

Dream reached out to lay a hand on top of George's. "I said I'd do it and I'm here, alright? I'm in if you're in." Giving George a minute before Dream sat back in his chair, he then continued. "How about we make a list of do's and don't's."

Dream watched as George sat up and relaxed a bit. "Yea let's do that."

"We could also make up a backstory," Dream offered. "Y'know in case your parents ask..."

George nodded. 

They then agreed hand holding and hugging were ok, kissing and cuddling were not. For a backstory, they decided they have been dating for about two months now. Everything beyond that was self explanatory; they met a while ago, hung out on discord, coded together, and eventually started dating. 

Dream himself was relieved they had set boundaries, but was more relieved George had his usual personality back. 

Pulling out his phone, Dream saw that Tommy was streaming. Turning to George, he smiled and said, "let's go mess with the child."

o-o-o-o-o

George tapped his fingers on the steering wheel. T-minus 26 minutes until they would arrive in his parents drive way. He glanced at Dream, who sat in the car next to him. He was sleeping, curled up against the door. He still didn't know how he can fall asleep like that.

George glanced back at the road, then eventually at the GPS. T-minus 11 minutes now. He felt his hands start to shake, and took a deep breath to steady himself. 

He glanced back over to Dream, and found him blinking the sleep from his eyes and looking back at him. 

**Turn right in 500 meters.**

George turned back to the road, and stared at the winding streets ahead. Slowing down in front of a familiar building, he heard the GPS speak.

**You have arrived at your destination.**

George pulled the car over and turned it off. "This is it," he said more to himself than Dream. Looking at his old childhood house gave him a strange sense of nostalgia. Memories from when he lived in the house flooded him, and he couldn't help but miss it a small bit. 

Dream unbuckled his seat belt and opened the car door. "This is it?" He repeated.

George nodded got out of the car as well. "This is it." After looking at the house a bit more, he grabbed his suitcase and handed Dream his. 

"Thanks," Dream said as he grabbed it. 

"Yep." George then locked the car behind them, and walked out on the stone path that lead to the door. After taking a deep breath, George reached out and knocked on the door. 

George waited a moment before he heard a voice call out from inside the house. "Tilly, hon, will you get that?"

George let a smile crawl on his face as he heard loud footsteps bang inside from someone running. George turned to Dream and gave a small smile to him, before turning back to the door as it was flung open.

"GEORGIE!" George lit up and opened his arms as his little sister Tilly collided into him. 

"Hi Tilly," he mumbled into her short, dark brown hair. After a moment, he pulled back to survey the child in front of him. She had grown since he saw her last, her being 10 now, but she still has the same face and sparkling eyes he remembers. 

He looks past Tilly as he hears another voice ring out through the house. "Wait, GEORGE IS HERE?"

Tilly turned around and stuck her tongue out at the identical girl who was walking towards the door. 

George was about to go hug her, but then stopped as she pointed to Dream and asked, "who's that?"

"Wow... no hello, Ava?" George turned to where Dream was standing awkwardly off to the side. "This is Clay. He's my... boyfriend." George felt heat flood to his face. He never thought he'd ever say those words, let alone apply them to _Dream_. 

Dream gave a small wave. "Hi!"

Ava snorted. "An American? Really George?"

George sputtered. "Hey- I-"

His mum, thankfully, came to his rescue. "Oh Georgie! You're here!"

George allowed himself to be swept up in another hug. "Hi mum." When they pulled apart, George stepped to the side and closed to Dream. "This is Clay."

George watched as Dream reached out to shake his mum's hand, only to be swept into a hug. "Hi Mrs. Davidson."

His mum shook her head. "No please- call me Anna."

Dream smiled politely and nodded his head.

George looked from Dream to Tilly, who was now grabbing his sleeve and tugging him into the house. "Georgie! Look at the tree I decorated! Doesn't it look nice?!"

George smiled and let Tilly drag him inside. Sitting in the corner of the living room, was a large pine needle tree wrapped in tinsel and ornaments. "It looks amazing! Did mum who you with it?"

Tilly continued to drag George through the house. "Nope! I did it all by myself!"

Ava pipped up from where she walked behind George. "You liar! I did some of it too!"

Tilly stopped and pulled George down so she could whisper in his ear. "No she didn't."

He snorted. _Things really haven't changed,_ He thought. _Still the same old bickering._

George could hear his mum from the kitchen. "Tilly why don't you let George and Clay go unpack for a few, ok?"

Tilly pouted but then bounced to the kitchen. 

George mouthed a _thank you_ to his mum before turning to lead Dream to where his bedroom was. He walked to the room and opened the door, and was hit with another wave of nostalgia. 

His room was just as he had left it. The walls are a soft baby blue, with various posters littering the bare space. His closet is to the right, with his desk next to it. Books are haphazardly stacked on it and below it, with various papers littering the area. The chair was neatly pushed under it, waiting to be used again. In the left side of his room was his bed. 

_The bed._

George sighed. He had a twin bed since it was large enough for himself because he is on the smaller side, but there was no way it's going to fit the two of them and their pillow wall. 

Leaving that conversation for another time, he threw his suitcase across the room and sat on the bed. 

Dream followed him, placing his suitcase down and sitting on the bed. After a moment of silence Dream spoke. "I forgot you had siblings."

George scrunched his nose and looked at Dream. "Really?"

Dream nodded. "Yea. I rarely hear you talk about them."

"Oh. Well I guess I like to keep family and career separate, and it might carry over a bit."

Dream smiled at George. "Maybe a bit. I like them, by the way. I'm not good with children but they seem nice."

George nodded. "It takes Ava some time to warm up, but Tilly's always an absolute menace."

Dream laughed. "I can tell."

"OH! I remember one time we were at a restaurant and she was laughing so hard accidentally tipped the table over. The best part was she caught her friend's mum's wine glass from sliding over the edge with everything else."

Dream wheezed as George told the story. 

"OH OH! I also remember that time-"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hehe that story I made up of Tilly is one that actually happened to my sister. We were out eating dinner with one of our friends and the table we were sitting at was wobbly so when she was laughing she leaned on it too much and it just fell. She caught our friends moms wine glass too. It was hilarious.


	5. Experiential docet - Experience teaches

Dream lay next to George in his bed. It was weird, but he doesn't know why it also _didn't_ feel weird. He glanced over at George beside him, and watched as his chest rose and fell with each deep breath. It was different sleeping without a wall of pillows between himself and George. When he moved, he brushed against George with his hand or foot. 

Dream isn't the type to fall asleep quickly, and when he finally does, he is a light sleeper. So instead of falling asleep, his mind wonders. 

The first thing he thinks about is George's family. They all seemed very nice, and the little one, Tilly, absolutely _adored_ George. So much so that she asked to sit next to him at the dinner table. Dream couldn't help but smile at the careful, gentle nature George had around Tilly. 

The next thing he thought about was his name. Dream never really liked his name. It was different, and whenever he introduced himself he just went by 'Dream'. Recently, he only talked to people who addressed him as 'Dream'. That morning however, George had introduced him as Clay. George had called him _Clay_. He fought the warm feeling that rose in his stomach as he replayed the moment. It sent butterflies fluttering within him, and he isn't sure why. 

The bed shifted under him, and he froze. Holding his breath, he stayed still as George rolled over beside him. As Dream was about to breathe out, he felt George bury his head into his shoulder. Tensing up, he ignored the heat that flooded to his face as he felt George's warm breath brush against his skin. He swore George would wake up to now loud Dream's heart was beating.

When George showed no evidence of moving any time soon, he got up, grabbed his phone, and went to the bathroom. Sitting on the bathroom floor, Dream buried his head in his hands. He startled when his phone buzzed in his pocket. 

**Drista (ง'̀-'́)ง:** u ditched us for Christmas????

Dream sighed and opened up the message. He had told his family he would be spending Christmas at George's house, purposely excluding the part where they were pretending to be dating. 

**Dream:** Yea... sorry

**Drista (ง'̀-'́)ง:** rude  
anyways how's London?

**Dream:** Its alright  
Also go to bed YoU cHiLd 

**Drista (ง'̀-'́)ง:** you forget that it's only 8pm here   
why are you up at 1am anyways?

Dream panicked and thought of an excuse.

**Dream:** I slept in the car so I'm not tired 

**Drista (ง'̀-'́)ง:** smh your sleep schedule is worse than mine 

**Dream:** Perks of being an adult

**Drista (ง'̀-'́)ง:** that doesn't seem like a perk

**Dream:** ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯

**Drista (ง'̀-'́)ง:** ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯  
i'm expecting photos btw 

**Dream:** _[1 attachment image]_

**Drista (ง'̀-'́)ง:** cute cat  
that George's cat?

**Dream:** Yea

**Drista (ง'̀-'́)ง:** coooollll   
well you should go back to actually trying to sleep now  
bye

**Dream:** Bye

Dream shut his phone off and got up. He then turned the bathroom light off, and crept back to George's bedroom. When he entered the room, he looked over at George, who had rolled back over and faced the wall. Dream yawned, and creeped over to the wall to plug his phone in. Once it said it was charging, he crawled over to the bed and laid down. Breathing out a small sigh of relief when George stayed where he was, Dream curled up under the blankets and eventually was able to fall asleep.

o-o-o-o-o

When Dream awoke, he was sprawled out in the middle of an empty bed. He rolled over, and blinked his eyes open. The clock on George's wall read 10:03am. Picking himself up, he slowly got out of the bed and stretched, his back and neck cracking. He then followed the scent of breakfast out of the bedroom, and to the kitchen.

When Dream reached the hallway to the kitchen, he did a double take. There, standing in the kitchen, was George, who was dressed in shorts and Dream's hoodie. Dream stood there, and watched as George helped his mom cook food, in _Dream's_ hoodie. It was a couple of sizes too big for George, and it reached down to his mid thigh. George had the sleeves bunched up at his elbows, and would occasionally push them up as they slipped down his arm while he was cooking. Dream watched George walk around in his hoodie and thought he looked... _cute_. 

Dream immediately felt heat rush to his face and pushed all thoughts alike to that one out of his head. He quickly turned around and went back upstairs as quietly as he could. Once he reached the stairs, he fled to the bathroom and locked the door behind him. He then splashed cold water on his face and brushed his teeth. Dream ran his fingers through his hair and when he deemed himself somewhat presentable, he sighed. After pulling himself together, he exited the bathroom and went downstairs again. 

When Dream reached the bottom of the stairs, he almost ran into George. He laid a hand on George's shoulder to steady himself and George. "Sorry," he said.

George smiled at Dream. "I was just about to go get you. Breakfast is ready!"

Dream lifted his hand off George's shoulder and moved it down to his side, but then was pulled forwards as George grabbed it. He let George lead him into the dining room where they had eaten dinner the night before. He watched George as he marched along, towing him without a second thought like this was a normal occurrence. He looked down at the floor, hoping the heat that flooded his face didn't give away that this was _not_ in fact, a normal occurrence. 

When Dream and George sat at the table, George's mom entered the dining room. "George honey, will you and Clay watch the kids for a few? I have to run a few errands."

Dream looked at George and shrugged. 

George then told his mom, "sure."

"Thanks!" George's mom then left the room and Dream heard the front door open and close behind her. 

When Dream looked back from the door to the table, his plate of food had been pushed aside. In its place was a game board.

Across the table, Tilly stared Dream down with a mischievous smile. "Who's ready for a game of MONOPOLY?!"

To his left, George groaned. "Not right now."

Dream laughed. "What, scared of a little game of monopoly Georgie?"

George shook his head. "No I just don't like playing with Tilly. Ava come play with us! Share our misery!"

Dream wheezed as Ava entered the room, looked around, then froze. "Nope!" She shook her head and slowly backed out of the room. "You can't make me!"

Dream squinted his eyes at George, and looked back and forth between him and Tilly, who was waiting patiently and counting out money. He shrugged and said to Tilly, "lets play."

o-o-o-o-o

"WHAT?!" Dream practically screamed, as he rolled a 2. He had landed on the two properties that were the most expensive in a row. Normally, this would not bother him. But Dream had landed on them for the third time in a row, draining all his cash he had collected from going around the board and from people landing on his own properties.

Tilly slammed her small fists onto the table. "HAHA YES PAY UP CLAY!"

Dream shook his head and started mortgaging his properties. "I can't believe this."

George had his head in his hands and was holding on to his spot in the game by less than 100 dollars. "Welcome to the last 10 years of my life..."

Dream sighed and handed over the due amount to Tilly, who grabbed it and tossed it into her growing pile of monopoly money. "Your turn George."

George grabbed the dice and rolled them. He ended up landing on free parking. The three of them played where if they had landed on a tax space they put the money into free parking. It made the game more based on luck, which was definitely _not_ on George or Dream's side up until then. "POG!"

Dream smiled and screamed, "YES GEORGE!"

Tilly grabbed the dice and placed them down. "Before I roll, I want to put more houses on my properties."

George shot a look at Dream that said, _this is all your fault_. 

Dream sighed and exchanged the monopoly money Tilly handed over for houses. 

Tilly then grabbed the dice and rolled. She rolled a 3, and landed on one of Dream's mortgaged properties. Dream fake glared at Tilly, who giggled at Dream. 

"My turn again!" Dream announced. He rolled the dice, and passed go. He was going to need all the money he could get it he were to survive a few more trips around the board. 

George grabbed the dice from the table and rolled. "Move 5 for me Tilly."

Dream counted 5 spaces and shot a sympathetic look at George. 

George landed on another one of Tilly's properties and sighed. "That's it. I'm done." George handed Tilly the remains of his money.

"Even with the free parking money?" Dream asked.

George nodded and buried his head in his hands again. "Yep."

Tilly grabbed the dice and rolled. Dream and Tilly played for another half hour, passing money back and forth. Dream wanted to admit he was going easy on Tilly because she was a child, but he would be lying. Tilly had crazy luck. 

Dream banged his head against the table as he ran out of money. "You're got to be kidding me."

Tilly neatly stacked her money with a wild gleam in her eyes. "Nope!"

Dream picked his head up off the table as he heard George enter the room with two cups of hot cocoa. "Did she finally win?"

Dream nodded and went back to sulking.

George laughed. "I'm honestly surprised you lasted this long."

Dream looked back to George. "Thanks for the vote of confidence."

George sent Dream a blinding smile and handed Dream a steaming mug. "You're welcome. Hot chocolate?"


	6. Nix - Snow

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize for any errors I missed along the way. It kept autocorrecting snow to show for some reason and I tried to get them all but if I didn't you now know by lol

George sat on his couch in the living room. He felt warm, despite it being relatively cold in his house. He remembered watching Dream play with Tilly earlier that day. Dream had been a good sport, even though he got beaten badly by a small child. It would be fun teasing Dream about it later, George thought. Dream had a huge ego, and sometimes needed a reality check. George could also guarantee that if Tilly earned real money for how much she won Monopoly, she would be rich to the point where she could buy Amazon. 

George snorted and took a sip of his hot chocolate, but then almost spit it out when he heard a loud gasp. Frantically looking around, he found Dream, who was staring with wide eyes out of the living room windows. "What?" he asked.

Dream looked from the window to George, then back outside. "George look!"

In the time they were playing Monopoly, it had started to snow outside.

George smiled as he watched Dream stare out the windows in awe. He then stood up and went upstairs to his room. Grabbing his jacket and Dream's, George practically ran back down the stairs.

"Here," George said, and tossed Dream's jacket into his lap. 

Dream tore his eyes away from the snow to smile at George and put his jacket on. "Thanks."

George slid his shoes on and walked to the back door that led out into their backyard. He gestured for Dream to follow him. "Come on."

Dream radiated with delight. "Alright give me a second."

George watched as Dream struggled to put on his shoes and then stripped on the shoe lace. He snorted. "God, you're worse than Tilly."

Dream wheezed as he scrambled up from the floor. "Shut up!"

George threw open the back door of the house. "Well hurry!" He then stepped outside into the snow, and heard the familiar crunch of his shoes hitting the surface of the snow. When he was fully outside and standing in the snow, he turned back to Dream who was standing in the doorway. Dream held an arm out, and watched as snowflakes landed on his hand. George tapped his foot impatiently. "C'mon, it's not gonna kill you."

Dream put his hand down and smiled at George. "I know." He then stepped outside and looked around. Dream sucked in a breath and continued to take in the snow-covered scenery. "It's so... _pretty_."

George reached over and shut the door behind Dream. He then smiled at him, and sat down to lay in the snow. 

Dream tore his eyes away from the snow covered trees and watched as George rolled around in the snow. "What are you... Are you making a snow angel?"

George laughed and stopped moving around, then patted the ground beside him. "Sit with me." Dream nodded then slowly lowered himself onto the ground next to him.

George smiled softly to himself as Dream turned back to the flurry of snowflakes, and stuck his tongue out to catch snow. He watched as snowflakes landed on Dream's eyelashes, making him blink but then reopen his eyes to resume staring at the falling snow in awe. Dream's jacket was a dark navy blue, and if George looked close enough, he could see the shape of each individual snowflake before they melted. 

George's eyes shot back up to Dream's face as he turned to look at George. George's face heated up as he was caught staring at Dream. He half expected Dream to make some sort of witty remark, but instead he watched as Dream's eyes mapped out his face. The white of the snow made Dream's eyes shimmer, and his dark freckles that dotted his face stood out in a stark contrast. George longed to reach out and lay a hand on Dream's cheek, but settled for counting his freckles.

A warm flurry of butterflies erupted in George's stomach as he looked back up to Dream's eyes who met his stare. George bit his lip as he felt like he was melting under Dream's gaze. 

George's breath hitched as he watched Dream reach a hand out and lightly brush his cheek. George stayed frozen, scared that if he moved, Dream would pull back. The only thing he could hear was his heart pounding in his ears.

Dream's eyes flicked down to George's lips, then back up to his eyes. Dream inched forwards, so his nose just barely touched George's. George could feel Dream's warm breath on his cheeks. 

He wasn't sure who moved first, but the next thing George knew, there was a soft pair of lips pressing lightly against his own. Sparks shot through George, and after a second, he reached out to throw an arm around Dream to pull him closer. Heat blossomed in his chest as Dream moved his hand from George's cheek to run through his hair as he angled himself better to deepen the kiss.

After a moment, they both drew back and George buried his burning face in Dream's chest.

Dream sighed then whispered. "Dang it."

George looked up, afraid he did something wrong. "What?"

Dream snorted and ran his hand through George's hair. "I owe Sapnap 50 dollars."

George sputtered. "I- you- WHAT?"

Dream refused to meet George's eyes out of embarrassment. "I told Sap that there was no way you felt the same way I did, and he disagreed; so we made a bet."

George shook his head. "You're so dumb."

Dream wheezed. 

"No but like... You're really dumb." George grabbed a handful of snow and dumped it on to Dream.

Dream continued to laugh and brushed the snow off.

George dumped more snow onto Dream. "So dumb..."

Dream brushed the snow off of his jacket again. "In my defence, I honestly didn't think you felt the same way."

George hummed and rolled away from Dream, only to turn back and throw a chunk of snow at him. "Idiot."

Dream gasped dramatically as the snow hit his jacket. "Hey!"

George smiled innocently at Dream, while making a snowball in his hands. He then quickly threw it at Dream.

Dream sat up and brushed the snow, yet again, off of him. "Ok, that's it, you're on!" He then grabbed some snow and threw it at George.

George shrieked, and grabbed for another chunk of snow. He compacted it into a snowball, and launched it at Dream. 

Dream dodged the snow, and threw his own snowball at George.

George started running, grabbing bits of snow along the way. He ducked behind a chair that was sitting outside, and formed a few quick snowballs.

Dream's footsteps crunching in the snow grew louder as he came closer, sending George into a panic to make more snowballs. "C'mere George!"

George felt his heart leap in anticipation, and glanced out from behind the chair. He quickly hid back behind it, and held a snowball in each hand. Taking a deep breath, he then turned around and launched snowball after snowball at Dream.

Dream dodged a few, but then got hit by the rest. He laughed, doubling over as he wheezed. "George!"

George shot his fist in the air. "I win!"

Dream laughed and stood back up. "Let's go back inside, it's cold outside."

George laughed and started to make his way back to the door. He didn't want to stop playing in the snow, but now that Dream had mentioned the cold, George's hands were beginning to feel numb. Pretending like he was perfectly fine, George decided to tease Dream. "Aww poor baby Dream," he cooed. "Is it too cold outside?"

George turned back around to make sure Dream was following him, and he could've sworn he saw a red blush on Dream's face. "Shut up," he murmured.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hehe chapter upload on my bday :)))


	7. Amor et melle et felle est fecundissimus - love is rich with both honey and venom

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Omg I am so sorry for not posting last week! I started writing this chapter like last Saturday then lost track of time and I ended up writing the majority of it the last couple of days lol. Enjoy this (a lil longer) chapter :D

Christmas is 6 days away, and George has absolutely _no idea_ what to get Dream. He was planning on mailing him something a few weeks ago, but now that Dream is here with him, he didn't even bother getting anything. He had been so wrapped up about Dream agreeing to going to his parents house, George forgot about buying something for Dream. Staring at all the Christmas decorations that littered his house, George felt his insides curl.

The front door opening and closing shook George out of his train of thought. "Georgie I'm back!" A voice called from the hallway.

"Ok mum!" George stood up and walked to where his mum had entered the house. "Need any help?"

George's mother made a small effort to hide the bags she was holding behind her. "Nope!" Even though George was a grown man, his mum still insisted on everything being a secret. 

"Ok..." George followed her further into the house and to the living room, where his mum dropped the bags. George sat on the couch and started sulking. He was such a bad friend. Or boyfriend? They hadn't really talked it out yet, so George made a mental note to ask Dream later. Speaking of Dream, he reminded himself that he hadn't even gotten him a Christmas present yet, and here his mum was, buying things for a person she didn't even know.

George felt a hand on his shoulder and he looked up to see his mum standing over him. "What is it Georgie?"

George looked down, embarrassed, and said "mum, I haven't gotten a Christmas present for Dre- Clay yet."

She smiled at him. "Why don't you take him into town and buy one there?"

George nodded. "Alright."

His mum ruffled George's hair and then turned to go do something else. "After all, you guys deserve some alone time after watching Tilly and Ava today."

George stood up and bounced out of the living room. "Thanks mum!" He then ran up the stairs two at a time to his room, and sat on his desk chair. He fished out his phone from his pocket and scrolled through Twitter as he waited for Dream to exit the bathroom after his shower. He tweeted something random, letting the fans know that yes, in fact, he was still alive.

He wondered what he would get Dream for Christmas at the shops. George wanted to get something sentimental, but he wasn't sure what would be considered sentimental. 

George looked up from his phone as he heard the door to his room creak open. "Took you long enough."

Dream shook his head like a dog, spraying water everywhere. "I was cold, ok?" He then shuffled around the room to stuff things in his suitcase. 

George laughed and leaned away from the small shower of water. "Well I hope you're warm now because we're going back outside."

Dream stopped what he was doing to stare at George. "What?"

George nodded. "Yep! We're going to the shops in town."

Dream blinked a few times. "You're serious?"

George nodded again. "Mhm."

Dream sighed and put on a sweatshirt. George felt his face heat up when he realized he still has Dream's other sweatshirt on. "Are we walking or driving?" He asks. "Cause the way you're talking it sounds like we're walking there and back."

George fiddled with the strings on the sweatshirt. "We're driving... But the parking is sometimes full so we may have to go a little ways to find a spot to park."

Dream rolled his eyes. "Sounds delightful. When are we leaving?"

George stood up. "We can leave now."

Dream stood up from his spot next to his suitcase and grabbed his jacket. "Alright!"

George led Dream down the hallway and out of the house to the car. Dream opened George's door for him, and George smiled and muttered a quick thank you. He did have his suspicions that Dream forgot about the flipped sides of the car and improvised, but who was George to judge. 

When they both were settled in the car, George started it and drove off. Thankfully, it had stopped snowing, and the roads had been plowed. George did _not_ want to get into a car accident because of the slippery roads or falling snow. When they reached the part of town where all the shops were, he had been right. All of the parking near the shops had been taken up. 

Dream snorted. "Looks like America on black Friday."

George grimaced. "I've heard stories."

Dream started laughing. "One time my sister and I were out driving around the night before and we saw people who were sitting outside some of the stores."

"Jeez. Don't people get... like.. trampled?"

Dream laughed even harder at George's question. "Oh Georgie, you haven't even heard half of the things that happen."

George spotted a parking space and quickly drove to claim it. When he successfully parked, he shut the car off and unbuckled his seatbelt. "Alright, we're here!"

Dream unbuckled his seatbelt and hopped out the door. 

George hopped out of the car as well, then locked the car behind him. Throwing his jacket on, George walked around to the side of the car Dream was standing next to. 

When George reached Dream's side, he saw him smiling softly at the snow around him. "Look George, it sparkles!"

George laughed at Dream. "Yea it does. Now come on, I want to show you around the stores."

Dream let George grab his hand and pull him through the sidewalks to where the shops lined the street. They barged into the first store, and Dream let go of George's hand to pick up a post card. "I'm sure my sister will want this."

George mourned the loss of heat from Dream's hand that was no longer in his, but then grew excited. "You should go pick out a few things for them. I also need to get some things for my family anyways." _Ok, that was a total lie,_ he thought. 

Dream smiled and nodded, all the same. "Ok. I'll see you back here in 20 minutes then."

George nodded, turned, then set off. He just earned himself 20 minutes to find Dream a Christmas present. Walking through the winding isles of the store, he settled on a shelf that had snow globes. Reaching out for one, he picked up one with a cat in it. The cat was white and what he thinks is brown, and looks similar to Patches. The cat also had a bow on it. George shakes it, and smiles as white flurries of fake snow fly around the snow globe. Deciding on buying it, he turns and wonders around the store in search for anything else.

When 15 minutes had gone by, George decided to just get the snow globe for Dream. He also gathered a handful of other things he could say were for his family if Dream asked him what he had bought. 

George stood in line to buy the things and stared at the useless things that cluttered the waiting area. His eyes traveled over the candies and other items, and landed on a pair of friendship bracelets. They were made out of string, and had blue in them. George picked them up, and read the tag. It said the colors were blue as well as green. He had no way of actually knowing, but deciding to buy them anyways, he tossed the pair into his growing pile of things. When he reached the cashier, George paid for the items. 

As the cashier handed George back his things, they asked, "want anything wrapped?"

George debated on having them wrap the snow globe. If he did it now, he couldn't have to do it later. "Yea. Just the snow globe."

"Cool." The cashier wrapped the snow globe in wrapping paper and then handed it to George. They also handed the other things to him in a bag. "You're all set! Have a nice day!"

George nodded and hurried off to find Dream. He speed walked to their meeting place and slowed down when he saw Dream standing there people watching. 

When George finally caught up to Dream, he nudged him with his elbow. "You ready for the next adventure?"

Dream turned and smiled at George. "Yep! I saw a store with hot chocolate when I was wondering around waiting for you. We should go get some."

George nodded and let Dream grab his hand again to pull him around. As they walked by the stores, George smiled at the cheerful vibe all of the stores gave off. Most, if not all, had Christmas lights and candles decorating their interior and windows. There was faint music playing, and George couldn't pinpoint which shop it came from, but he liked it anyways. 

"This one," Dream said as he tugged George into a coffee shop. 

They entered a small building made out of wood. It had two stories; the bottom floor had the counter, the kitchen, and a few tables while the top floor had more seating and large glass windows. Christmas lights littered the place, wrapping around the railing of the stairs and adoring the frames of the windows. Natural light streamed in through the windows, lighting the place up. There was also a fireplace in the corner, giving off heat and a welcoming feeling.

George tripped on the ledge of the door, stumbling as Dream pulled him along. 

Dream wheezed and let go of George's hand. "Sorry," he said, but didn't sound apologetic in the slightest.

George rolled his eyes and followed Dream up to the counter. He looked up at the menu, and spotted the offer of hot chocolate. The hot chocolate was also being served with marshmallows. He ordered and paid for the two of them, insisting that he should pay because Dream bought his plane tickets. 

When they got their drinks, Dream led them to a small booth near the corner of the cafe. As George sat down, he laughed as Dream tried to look inside of the bags George was carrying. "What'd you get?"

George moved the bags away from Dream's line of sight. "Nothing for you."

Dream took a sip of his hot chocolate and raised an eyebrow. "If it's not for me then why can't I see it?"

George rolled his eyes. "You're an idiot."

Dream wheezed and set his cup down to avoid spilling it. 

George sighed and looked out the window. He watched as people walked by, some in a rush and others casually strolling. He laughed at a few, pointing out some ridiculously ugly sweaters or too playful children. 

"George..." Dream speaking made George turn back to him. He watched, confused, as Dream gestured to his face while laughing. "You've got something..."

George wiped the tip of his nose, and snorted as his sleeve now had a piece of melted marshmallow on it. 

Dream wheezed, clearly amused by George's messiness. "You know, for a person who insists on eating and drinking everything slowly, you still make a giant mess."

George squinted at Dream's small hot chocolate mustache. "Like you're any better."

Dream laughed and nodded. "Touche."

When they had drained their cups of hot chocolate, George had decided that it was time for them to head back to his house. On their way out, the lady working at the cash register called out, "have a nice day!"

George smiled and nodded, while Dream waved and said, "thank you!"

The lady spoke to them again, as they were about to exit the door. "You know, you two make a great couple."

George, clearly embarrassed, looked down at the floor and said, "oh, no we're not-" at the same time Dream said "thanks!"

Pausing, George looked at Dream, who then glanced away from George and refused to meet his eyes. _Well this is awkward,_ George thinks to himself. He turned and shuffled out of the shop, leaving a confused lady at the cash register, and an expressionless Dream following him. 

As George made the treck back to his car, he shivered. The sun had begun to set, the sky already darkening as a result. He stuffed one of his hands in his pocket, and held his bag of Christmas presents in the other. He didn't know if he should speak to Dream, or wait until they were in the car to talk. George glanced behind him, and saw Dream staring blindly out at the shops. For a person who always wears his heart on his sleeve, George couldn't tell what Dream was thinking at the moment. Deciding to stay quiet, he dragged on and reached his car. 

Throwing his bags in the trunk, George then sat in the driver's side and chewed on one of his fingernails. 

Dream sat down in the passenger side and finally spoke up. "If you'd like to stay friends that's fine with me."

 _No,_ George screamed, inside his mind. _A million times no._ Instead of saying no however, he just asked, "do you want to stay friends?"

Dream responded in a monotone voice. "Sure."

George bit his tongue, and tried to blink back the tears that were forming in his eyes. _No._ "Ok."

"Ok."


	8. Destitutus ventis, remos adhibe - If the wind fails you, use the oars

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Today I offer you: a ChApTeR :O
> 
> Yes I know it's short but hey, it's something XD

George stood in his bathroom on the top floor of his house. He wasn't sure whether or not to feel guilty. When they had gotten home from shopping, Dream had barely even looked his way. He had been playing with Tilly the whole time, and politely answering questions when George's parents threw one his way at dinner. If his parents had caught onto the tension between him and Dream, they haven't said anything yet. 

George slid down the bathroom wall and placed his head in his hands. He didn't mean to slip up. Everything was going so well too. He never liked to jump to conclusions, so he took a step back. He told the cashier they weren't dating, because he didn't like to assume where Dream and himself stood. 

Dragging his hands through his hair, George ran the previous afternoon in his mind over and over. 

_Did Dream really want to be just friends?_

He felt his eyes begin to burn. George knew he was never good at conveying his emotions, so he usually did so through actions and unspoken words. Dream could write paragraphs and preform grand gestures, but George just... couldn't. He thought what he did was enough... He thought he could show how much he liked Dream...

Standing up, he quickly splashed his face with cold water. George then turned off the bathroom light and exited the room. Walking blindly in the dark towards his room, he felt like he was crawling towards an inevitable death. 

George stood outside his door, hesitatant to open it. Countless thoughts spiralled in his head. Slowly, he reached out to open the door. The door handle felt like it was burning him, like he shouldn't enter the room. Once he had opened the door, he stepped in and closed the door behind him. 

A part of him wished he were back at his apartment, miles away. He wished he never slipped up on that phone call with his parents or asked Dream to come with him. He longed to be back in his little naive bubble, with his cat as comfort. He hopped his cat was doing well without him. He left his neighbor in charge of feeding the cat.

Sighing, George crawled into his bed. Dream was already resting on it. Once he laid down, he pulled the blankets over himself and froze. Listening to Dream's irregular breathing, George could tell he was pretending to be asleep. "Dream," he whispered. "I know you're awake."

No movement or reply came from Dream.

George sighed and stayed quiet for a moment. He stared at Dream's back and desperately wanted to reach out, to shake his shoulder, to _touch_ him, but he couldn't bring himself to do it. "I'm sorry..." He finally said, then rolled over to face the room with his back to Dream.

o-o-o-o-o

"I'm sorry..." Dream heard George whisper to him.

_I'm sorry_

Dream squeezed his eyes shut, the two words replaying in his head over and over. _I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry..._ He felt a tear slip from his eyes and travel down his cheek, leaving a tingling sensation in its wake. He's never felt more confused in his life. He thought he was doing everything right. 

_What did he do wrong?_

Dream had already painstakingly relived the past 24 hours multiple times in his mind, trying to pick apart where he went wrong. 

_Things were going so well, where did he go wrong?_

Dream was on cloud-9 before the cafe. Even in the cafe, he felt happier than he had felt in a long time. Dream almost snorts from the irony. 

_Guess that's what people mean when they always say it's calm before a storm._

Dream immediately tensed as the bed under him shifted, but then relaxed a few seconds later when he realized George had fallen asleep. Reaching up, he wiped the tears from his face with the short sleeve of his t-shirt. 

He was thrown into a small fit of dispare when he realized that he missed his home in Florida. He missed Patches. He missed the noisy birds who made a nest near his bedroom window. He even missed the wacky neighbor who would mow his lawn at 3am some mornings. 

_Anything but this..._

Dream rolled onto his back and stared up at the ceiling. He wiped his tears again and tried to clear his mind for a moment. The more worked up and upset he got, the longer it would take for him to fall asleep. Normally he would call George, make him talk to him until they both fell asleep, but he couldn't do that now. 

Sighing, he rolled onto his side away from George again. He closed his eyes and tried to throw George out of his thoughts. He tried to shove him into the back corner of his mind then out the back door, but he kept crawling back. He was an amaranthine presence, always lingering in the back of his mind. 

Giving up, he rolled back over to stare at George. He looked so peaceful days before when he was sleeping. Now, he had creases in his brow, like he was in a constant nightmare. Reaching out, Dream lightly ran a hand over his forehead. He brushed some of George's dark brown hair away from his face, and let his hand trail down his cheek and stop at his jaw. 

Dream froze, hand in mid air, as George shifted closer to him. He held his breath as George unconsciously reached out to Dream, and threw an arm over his side while tangling his legs in Dream's. When George stopped moving, he let out a shaky breath and moved his hand to rest over George's side. Closing his eyes, he steadied his breathing and fell into a deep sleep.

Just this once, Dream allowed himself to live in a fantasy of what could've been.

**Author's Note:**

> Me: idk what to name this fic...   
> Also me: LeT's NaMe It In LaTiN eVeN tHoUgH iT'Ll Be SuPeR aNnOyInG


End file.
